Aseptic canning system



W. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM 12, 1959 14 sheets-sheet 1 IJune 23, 1964 Original Filed Oct.

`lune 23, 1964 Original Filed Oct.

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W. MCK. MARTIN AsEPTIc CANNING SYSTEM 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORNE'Y June 23, 1964 W. McK, MART|N 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 l4 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOR. W/LL/AM Mc K. MART/N @MMM June 23, 1964 w. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR. WILL/AM McK. MARTIN ATTORNEY June 23, 1964 w. MGK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEFTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 23, 1964 w. MSK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEFTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. 12, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR.

By W/LL IAM McK. MART/N June 23, 1964 w. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-SheeiI 7 INVENTOR. WILLIAM McKMAm-m .ATTORNEY June 23, 1964 w. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM original Filed opt. 1'2, 1959 14 sheets-sheet s WILLIAM McK. MARTIN ATTORNEY June 23, 1964 w. MGK. MARTIN v 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR. Mu/AM McK. MART/N BYQaJ-M COMM June 23, 1964 W. MoK MARTlN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet lO l :zo I BY @n il,... @MH

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zzz ATTORNEY ASEFTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 1l INVENTOR. WILL/AM McK. MARTIN YMMM .ATTORNEY June 23, 1964 w. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTOR. WILL/AM McK. MART/N www @M June 23, 1964 w. MSK. MARTIN ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed 0012. l2, 1959 14 Sheets-Sheet 13 360' FOR COMPLETE ILLING CYCLE FILLED CAN exns EMPTY can sums CAN FLLED @Inl INVENTOR. WILLIAM Mc K. MARTIN @MMM TTORNE'Y June 23, 1964 w. MCK. MARTIN 3,138,178

ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. l2, 1959 l lllimm 277 :5 Hl lao "5 ilI i/ :f i Il I I! [76.21 l' l* lI 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 INVENTOR. WILL/AM McK. MART/Af 'aww United States Patent O 16 Claims. (Cl. 141-82) This invention relates to method and apparatus irnprovements for use in aseptic canning systems. It relates especially to the aseptic canning of foods containing suspended solids, such as vegetable soup, beef stew, and the like. The invention comprises a substantially complete process in which presized solid pieces of food are blanched and fed in metered amounts into a liquid phase of the food product and are mixed with it. Short-time, high-temperature sterilization is employed in a novel manner. The sterilized food is then cooled and dispensed into cans by a novel filler. The invention includes unusual coaction between several diiferent parts of the complete system.

The invention also incorporates novel features in many of the elements themselves. Thus, it relates, as well, to an improved method and improved apparatus for metering and blanching sizable particles of food; an improved apparatus for mixing the solid components with metered amounts of a liquid foodstuff, an improved method and apparatus for sterilizing them in a short time at elevated temperatures, and an improved method and apparatus for filling the products into presterilized containers under aseptic conditions.

This application is a division of my application Serial Number 845,744, now Patent No. 3,041,185, filed October 12, 1959, which was a continuation-in-part of my application Serial Number 759,098, led September 4, 1958, now abandoned, which was a continuation-in-part of my application Serial Number 546,306, tiled November 14, 1955, now abandoned.

A very important object of the present invention is to prevent disintegration, attrition, or mushing of the solid components in the food product while assuring their accurate measurement, their blanching, their complete sterilization, and their accurate and rapid filling into the presterilized containers.

Another important object of the invention is to provide for the continuous production of canned fluid or semiliuid food products containing solid pieces and having better flavor, color, texture, and uniformity than can be produced by conventional canning methods. The invention can also be used to produce homogeneous liquid and semiliquid canned products of improved quality.

Although the apparatus and methods of this invention will be described in connection with an aseptic canning system, many features are useful elsewhere in other food and chemical processing systems; so the invention is not to be interpreted as confined too narrowly.

THE ASEPTIC CANNING PROCESS CONSIDERED GENERALLY The aseptic canning process differs from conventional canning methods in that the product to be canned is sterilized before it is sealed in the containers, or even put into them, whereas in the conventional methods, the product is first put into the containers and sealed, and then the sealed containers are heated in a pressure cooker or retort to sterilize the product. In aseptic canning, the product is quickly heated to an elevated temperature in the range of 275-300" F., is maintained at that temperature for sucient time to effect sterilization, and is then rapidly cooled to 90-110" F.; the cooled sterile product is lled into presterilized containers in a sterile 3,138,178 Patented June 23, 19,64

ice

atmosphere, and the containers are sealed with sterile covers while still in the sterile atmosphere.

The heat-treatment received by the product in the sterilization step of the aseptic canning method is a matter of seconds, as compared with minutes in the conventional canning methods. For example, the conventional in-can sterilization process for green split pea soup in 303 x 406 cans (i6-oz. size) comprises heating the sealed can of soup for 55 minutes at a temperature of 250 F. In comparison, the aseptic canning method achieves sterilization of the same product before filling by holding it for only 8.8 seconds at 286 F. In the process of this invention, it takes only one or two seconds to heat the soup to 286 F., for a total heating time of about ten or eleven seconds to effect sterilization.

While the short-time, high-temperature sterilization process of this invention provides for continuous highspeed aseptic canning with more precise automatic control and consequent savings in labor and heat-energy, these savings and this speed are not its only advantages. Equally important is the fact that the linished canned product has better flavor, color, texture and vitamin content than the product resulting from lower temperature sterilization.

This outstanding improvement in. quality is due to the fact that the lethal eifect of heat upon bacterial spores increases at a very much higher exponential rate with increasing temperature than do the chemical changes that cause the degradation of avor, color, texture and vitamin constituents of the product. In fact, the sterilizing effect or lethality, time being constant, increases tenfold while the chemical reactions responsible for degradation of food quality increase only twofold, with each increase in 18 F. in process temperature. Some idea of the importance of this interesting relationship can be grasped by remembering that 24 is 16, while 104 is 10,000.

QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF LETHALITY The quantitative evaluation of lethality, or the sterilizing eiiect, of short-time, high-temperature processes for canned foods is expressed in the formula (given in the National Canners Association Laboratory Manual for the canning industry, 2nd Edition, Chapter 12, page 37):

S Fir-61() where S=the time in seconds during which the product is held at a process temperature T.

Tzthe temperature in F. of the product during the process time S, and

z=the slope of the thermal death-time curve in F., which for most of the common low-acid food products has been found to be 18 F.

ln the above formula, 250 F. is taken as a standard reference temperature, and the sterilization value F0 is expressed as time in minutes at this temperature'. The sterilizationvalues (F0) are thus expressed on a comparable basis, regardless of the actual process temperature.

To illustrate the practical signicance of the quick, hightemperature sterilization process used in the present invention, let us see how temperature aiects the minimum botulinus cook, i.e. what it takes to kill the dangerous bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. For the destruction of its heat-resistant spores F0=4. A 100 percent margin of safety would be given by using F0=8. Now compare the times necessary for equivalent sterilization processes at various temperatures, shown in the following table:

D Relation of Temperature and T me in Equivalent Sterilization Processes of Clostridium botulinum, at F=8 Process temperature T, F.: Process time S, minutes Thus, a few seconds in the higher temperature range are equivalent to many minutes at lower temperatures; and this short-time sterilization of foods at high temperatures does not degrade the food quality, as lower temperature sterilization does.

PROBLEMS 1N QUICKLY HEATING FOODS TO BE CANNED ASEPTICALLY There are, however, many diiliculties involved in quickly heating food products to temperatures of 275-300 F. Scorching and local overheating of the product at the heat-exchange surfaces in the heater are diicult to avoid-almost impossible when using most conventional heaters. Also, the solid components of the product tend to be disintegrated or mushed by their movement through the heater and other parts of conventional processing equipment.

Food products, being of organic composition, are very heat sensitive; they readily adhere to, and form crusts or iilms on, the hot surfaces of the types of heat-exchangers heretofore known. Local overheating or scorching of solid material that adheres to the heat-exchange surface not only imparts a cooked or burnt flavor and an objectionable color to other parts of the product contacting it in movement through the heater; in addition, burnt-on or heat-congealed film on the heat-exchange surface markedly reduces the eiiiciency of heat-transfer.

If the product tobe processed contains suspended solids of a frangible nature, the problems of heating and handling through the processing equipment are even more difticult.

Of the various types of heat exchangers commercially available for use in the food industry, none has been found satisfactory for short-time, high-temperature processing of the solids-containing products mentioned above, as the following comments will illustrate:

(l) When tubular heat exchangers are used for heating heat-sensitive products to temperatures in the range of Z50-300 F., high velocity ow must be maintained in the heating tube in order to reduce burn-on or lilming of product on the hot surface of the tube. For example, in the quick, high-temperature sterilization of ready-to-serve (not condensed) green split pea soup, the soup is pumped continuously through a steam-jacketed O.D. (0.305" LD.) stainless steel tube at a velocity of 29.5 feet per second. The pump pressure required to maintain this velocity through the heating tube and other parts of the system is in the range of 2,600 to 2,800 p.s.i. Even then, burn-on occurs and reduces the efliciency of heat transfer to the extent that the heating tube must be cleaned with suitable detergents at approximately two-hour intervals during operation.

The amount or rate of burn-on or filming will, of course, vary according to the nature and composition of the product being heated. For example, in processing tomato soup with the same equipment and under the same temperature and velocity conditions, burn-on occurs so rapidly that the heating tube must be cleaned after about each minutes operation. Thus tubular heaters have disadvantages even with homogeneous liquid food products.

More important, tubular heaters can not be used at all for high-temperature processing of foods containing suspended solid components. Obviously, it would not be possible to pump or otherwise convey solid components through small-diameter tubes, and even if it were possible to do so, the solid components would be completely disintegrated by attrition during high-velocity ow through the small-diameter heating tubes. Large-diameter tubes give insuicient heat-exchange surfaces, and the pumps necessary for turbulent ow of the large volumes involved and over the tremendous lengths that would be required, are unobtainable and if obtained, would pulverize the solids.

Tubular heaters also cannot be used for processing viscous products, such as condensed soups, because inipracticably high pump pressures would be necessary to force such products through the heating tube at sufficiently high velocity to reduce burn-on to an acceptable level in commercial operations.

(2) Plate heaters are widely used in heating and cooling nonviscous liquids in the lower temperature range of -200 F. Plate heaters are used mostly in the dairy industry for heating and cooling milk and milk products of low viscosity, using hot water or saturated steaml at subatmospheric pressures to avoid burn-on or scorching of the product as it flows at low velocity over the heatexchange surfaces.

However, in the high-temperature sterilization required in aseptic canning, plate heaters are subject to the same basic objection as tubular heaters: burn-on can be avoided only by high velocities. Furthermore, plate heaters are too weak to withstand the pressures necessary to obtain high-velocity ow of the product, and the narrow clearances between plates preclude their use in processing foods that are to retain their solid components as solid pieces.

(3) Heat exchangers with rotary scrapers have been used for heating liqu'iform food products to temperatures in the range of Z50-300 F., and cooling them to any desired temperature. A typical machine has a steam jacketed heat-transfer cylinder about 6 inches in diameter and 48 inches long in which is mounted a rotating shaft carrying scraper blades, which not only agitato and stir the product in contact with the heat-exchange surface, but also scrape the surface to remove encrusted or burnton material. The rotating shaft and blades mechanically damage and cause attrition of solid components. The damage is particularly objectionable when the liquid phase of the food product is of low viscosity, for the solid components are then partially disintegrated or mushed and also tend to build up in between the blades and the heatexchange surface. In any event, heat transfer is ineficient.

Moreover, the rotary scraper type of heat exchanger cannot be used at all for quick high-temperature processing in the range of 275-300 F. of particulate products of thick or heavy consistency, such as condensed vegetable soup, beef stew and similar proudcts. This inability is due not only to the objectionable disintegration and attrition of the solid components, but also to the low efficiency of heat transfer and to the diticulties of moving products of this type through the heating and cooling cylinder. l

(4) Steam-injection heaters embody the principle of injecting steam directly into the liquid being heated, lhighpressure steam being dispensed from nozzles or orifices. Typical examples are:

(a) In simple nozzle-type steam-injection heaters, steam is discharged directly into the body of liquid either in an open vessel or into the liquid as it flows continuously through a pipe.

(b) In tangential steam-injection heaters, steam orices are positioned around the outside wall of a circular heating chamber so that the steam is discharged tangentially into the liquid as it ows continuously through the chamber. Compare the Peebles Patent No. 2,452,260 and the Gressly Patent No. 2,682,827.

(C) In combination steam-injection and mechanicalagitation heaters, the liquid is agitated or whirled at high velocity while steam is being injected into the rapidly moving liquid. Compare the DeBethune Patent No. 2,077,227 and the Hawk Patent No. 2,492,635.

(d) Combination steam-injection and steam-chamber heaters inject or mix steam with the liquid and then separate the excess or uncondensed steam from the liquid in a closed chamber. Compare the Hawk Patent No. 2,801,087.

Numerous disadvantages attend these apparatus. Temperatures and pressures are difficult to control owing to surging in the steam-injection apparatus. Product incrustation or burn-on forms on the nozzles or at the orifices bathed by or immersed in the product; it also forms on any of the hot metal surfaces in contact with the product. It is impractical to recirculate and reuse the same steam over extended periods of time. All such heaters mix the steam with the liquid to be heated; this in itself violently agitates the liquid, and agitation is highly objectionable in heating liquids containing suspended solid food.

In steam-injection heaters, either the steam is dispersed in the liquid or the liquid is dispersed in the steam, or there is a combination of both types of dispersions. When steam is dispersed in the liquid, the steam bubbles that are surrounded momentarily by liquid condense quickly in the liquid, resulting in a violent collapse of the bubbles and consequent violent agitation. Suspended solids present in the liquid (as in particulate food products like vegetable soup) are damaged or partially disintegrated by the agitation effect of the dispersed steam. If, on the other hand, the liquid product is dispersed in and mixed with the steam, the solid components are damaged or partially disintegrated in the mechanical dispersion and mixing of the product with the steam.

All of the above methods of heat-processing foods have been investigated by actual experimentation and none of them has been found satisfactory for use in the quick high-temperature sterilization of food products containing frangible solid components.

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HEATER OF THIS INVENTION The present invention avoids mechanical damage and disintegration of solid components of foods by gently flowing the liquid-solid food mixture in a quiescent state and in a relatively thin layer with only its surface in contact with superheated steam, which sweeps the surface at high velocity. The food being heated and the steam heating medium are thus maintained as two separate and distinct phases, without intermixing. The gently moving quiescent mixture is quickly heated, while violent agitation of the product and the consequent disintegration of solid components are avoided.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method for eiciently heating a fluid product to any desired temperature without scorching thereof, and without product burn-on or incrustation on any heat-exchange surface.

A further object of the invention is to transfer heat to a continuously flowing, partly liquid food product from a heated gas passing rapidly over an exposed surface of the product. The resulting gas-liquid interface provides the heat exchange and eliminates the need of metal heat-exchange surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide heat exchange between a hot gaseous or vaporous heat-exchange medium in the turbulent state and a gently owing, cooler, product.

Another object is to avoid inefficient insulating layers which would Ibe present in case of laminar flow of either the liquid or gas.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a method and apparatus for uniformly heating homogeneous liquids or liquids containing sizable solid components, with controlled dilution or concentration.

Vand sealed by already-sterile covers.

6 THE NECESSITY OF STERILIZING THE PRODUCT BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE CAN High-temperature sterilization cannot be done after the product has been put in the can because of the slow rate of heat transfer from the outside to the interior of the product and because of control difficulties. The volumes and cross-sectional areas in cans are so large that when a peripheral portion is heated to 300 F., the inside center remains below the sterilization temperature long after sterilization has been completed at the peripheral portion and after prolonged heating has already begun degradation of the peripheral portion.

With viscous products in which heat transfer is by conduction and not by convection, high processing temperatures cannot be used after the product is in the can because of excessive scorching of the product in contact with the excessively hot can walls. Furthermore, even with nonviscous or low-viscosity liquid products, as well as particulate-type products such as whole kernel corn in brine and peas in brine, in which the heat transfer is largely by convection, high-temperature processes can not be used satisfactorily after the product is in the can, because of the difficulties of accurately controlling the short process times required in the high-temperature ranges. Another difficulty is that the head space or ll of the can affects the degree of agitation of the product in the can, and if the can is overlled, the reduction in headspace is reiiected in less eifective heat transfer; consequently, there is danger of understerilization with a consequent hazard of spoilage of the finished canned product.

In this invention, the high-temperature sterilization step precedes the filling step. The product is spread out in a thin layer and quickly brought to the sterilization temperature. Subsequently, the sterile food is cooled and is filled and sealed in the cans at the relatively cool temperature of about -1l0 F. That means that the already-sterilized food has to be put into already-sterile cans It also means that the sterility of the cans and food must be maintained and protected before, during, and after the filling operation.

UNSUITABILITY OF PRIOR-ART FILLERS FOR ASEPTICALLY CANNING PARTICULATE FOODS An important object of this invention is to provide a filling machine that can be conveniently operated under completely sterile conditions. Fillers already on the market can accomplish that object for some foods, but none of them has been suited to what I call particulate foods, i.e., foods containing actual pieces of solid food material. For example, vegetable soup may contain whole peas and beans, diced potatoes, carrots, and pieces of celery. Beef stew would contain chunks of beef, diced potatoes and carrots, and so on. Filling machines capable of aseptically canning non-particulate liquid products have been unable to accommodate such gross pieces without chewing of pulplng them into a practically homogenized slurry. Friction between the food and the edges of the machine or even friction between the food particles wears down the particles by attrition. Moreover, in some machines, the valves have been rendered inoperative or even damaged by the accumulation of such particles; in other machines the particles have been broken up, mashed, and destroyed as individual particles by the valves. Since we eat with our eyes and by feel as much as with our palate, such foods are not acceptable and nullify a basic object of aseptic canning-which is to distribute to consumers canned food substantially identical to what a good chef or cook would serve directly from his kitchen.

Accordingly, another important object of the invention is to provide a filler capable of use with particulate foods without damage to the solid components and without adversely affecting operation of the filler. However, the illers utility is not, of course, limited to particulate foods 4water vaporizes under the prevailing pressure.

or even to foods at all, or to sterile processes. The point 1s that this ller is of especial utility in those fields.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING BACK` PRESSURE IN THE ENTIRE PROCESSING SYS- TEM AND ITS BEARING ON THE FILLER Sterilization and cooking at temperatures higher than 212 F. can be carried on only at high pressures. For example, at 290 F. the pressure has to be maintained at not less than about 43 p.s.i.g., which corresponds to the vapor pressure of water at 4that temperature; otherwise the water content of the product will flash. Flashing cools the product, dropping it back to the temperature at which Flashing also tends to disintegrate the solid food particles; for example, if peas were being cooked under pressure at 290 F. and the pressure suddenly dropped, the peas would explode due to the sudden exit of steam from within the peas. Flashing also affects the flow of a continuous process by its effect upon the products in the process.

Therefore, in an aseptic canning process, it is very important to maintain back-pressure on the product stream. Ahead of the filler, the food is heated in a continuous stream to the sterilization temperature; then it is held at that temperature, while moving under pressure; next it is cooled to the desired filling temperature, while still moving and still under pressure-all this in order to maintain the back-pressure in the heating and holding portions of the system. It is therefore necessary to maintain the product under pressure until it is finally discharged from the ller. Accordingly, it is important that the filler operate at pressures not lower than this back-pressure and that the filler not cause this back-pressure to uctuate any substantial amount. It is also important that the filler itselt` not be affected adversely by the pressure of the product stream and that the product not be affected adversely by the filler.

Fillers currently in use for aseptic canning of homogeneous liquids employ a metering pump just ahead of the filler in order to maintain this back pressure. However, when handling foods containing solid pieces, such as vegetable soup, such pumps give n'se to three serious objections:

(l) The pump chops and disintegrates solid components and thus gives the finished product an unattractive mushed or mulligan-like appearance.

(2) Slippage of the liquid phase of the product under pressure through clearances in the pump results in straining out solid components in the pulsating or intermittent metering operation of the pump, with a consequent accumulation of the solid components in the line ahead of the pump. The solids thus accumulated in the line ahead of the pump are discharged with each cycle of the pump. If the liquid phase of the product is thin or of low viscosity, the slippage of the liquid through the pump will be so great that the speed of the pump will have to be greatly reduced in order to maintain the flow to the filler at a constant rate.

For example, in tests in which 3/8" cubes of carrots and potatoes were metered into a water solution containing no starch or other thickening agents and processed at 290 F. under a pressure of 60 p.s.i.g. at the rate of 5 gallons per minute, the speed of the back-pressure pump had to be reduced to less than one third of the speed corresponding to its actual volumetric capacity. In this test the solid components accumulated in the pipe and water-jacketed cooling tube ahead of the pump, while the water solution percolated or strained through the accumulated mass of cubed carrots and potatoes until the whole system (cooling tube, holding tube, tloat chamber and process chamber) became plugged with the solid material.

A subsequent test showed that with only water in the system under 60 p.s.i.g. pressure and with the back-pressure pump standing still and the drive motor turned ofi, the slippage of water through the pump was 61A gallons per minute. Obviously, it would be possible to reduce the pumps ow rate to 5 gallons of water per minute only by reducing the pressure in the system, with a corresponding reduction in temperature in the heating and heatholding portions of the system.

(3) Metering pumps capable of handling liquid-solid mixtures without attrition of the solids can not be used in maintaining back-pressure in the system during presterilization of the equipment, because of the slippage through the pump. Even when the pump is standing still, slippage is such that steam pressure in the heating unit would have to be reduced below that necessary to maintain the temperature required to sterilize the system. Moreover, there would be flashing of the super-heated Water in the discharge side of the pump with a resulting reduction in temperature below that necessary for sterilization of parts of the pump and the system beyond the pump through the filler.

The filler of the present invention maintains the backpressure in the product stream at all times in its operation, without causing fluctuation during any portion of the filling cycle and, moreover, the pressure level of the product stream does not adversely affect the filler or its operation. In contrast, none of the known fillers are capable of maintaining back pressure.

Hence, another object of the invention is to provide a filler for aseptic canning processes that maintains backpressure on the food being processed and is itself unaffected by this back-pressure. My invention accomplishes this object economically and in a simple manner, without introducing complexity and adding possible new causes of trouble.

A further object is to provide a filler that can readily be sterilized and can be maintained in a sterile condition during continuous operation at high can-filling speeds.

In addition to all these things, any filler must be capable of accuracy. Every canner has to give full weight and give it consistently, if he is to stay out of trouble with the Food and Drug Administration, but he also has to avoid giving too much if he is to endure competition. So another object of this invention is to provide consistent accuracy in a hi gli-speed iilling machine.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a filling machine of superior eficiency, simplicity of construction, and capable of high-speed operation; to provide a novel type of piston-and-cylinder filler with novel inlet and outlet valves; and to provide a novel type of cam operation of the inlet and outlet valves for the cylinder, together with a novel synchronization of the inlet and outlet valves with the piston, as well as novel means for adjusting the stroke of the piston to fill different sized containers with different amounts.

METERING AND BLANCHING OF SOLID PARTICLES When aseptically canning a mixture comprising a liquid phase and a solid phase, special problems arise. One of these is the diiculty of maintaining a set proportion of liquids to solids all through the process. Obviously, no canning process can be satisfactory which results in filling some cans with more liquid and less solid than other cans. Usually there are several solid ingredients, as for example potatoes, peas, celery, carrots, and beef may all be added in chunks to the same soup. There is, then, also the problem of maintaining the correct relative proportions among these ingredients. To add all the solid ingredients to the liquid ingredients and then stir them by mechanical mixers is likely to result both in poor proportioning and in crushing, mangling or otherwise damaging some of the solid components.

Also, it is conventional to blanch solid ingredients before putting them into the liquid mix, and this has to be done in a way that will not result in either overcooking or underblanching.

The solution of these problems is among the objects of the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, and of some modiiications.

BROAD CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention embodies a combination of sequential operations including (l) precooking or blanching each of the solid food constituents with both the temperature and time of treatment automatically controlled, (2) metering each of the precooked or blanched solid constituents into the liquid phase of the product in the desired amounts and proportions, (3) mixing the solid and liquid components and feeding the mixture uniformly to a pumping stage, V(4) pumping the mixture into and through a product heater, a temperature holding tube, and a cooling system, to a iilter, while maintaining uniform distribution of the solid compoents in the mixture throughout these operations, quickly heating the product mixture to temperatures in the range of 275-300 F. without local overheating or scorching of any parts of the product and without attrition or disintegration of the solid components, (6) conveying the heated product mixture through the holding tube, in which it is maintained at the elevated temperature for sulicient time to cause penetration of heat into and throughout the solid components, thereby effecting complete destruction of bacterial spores and other micro-organisms contained therein, (7) cooling the product mixture to approximately room temperature or to some other temperature below the ash point of the product at atmospheric pressure, and, (8) lling the cooled sterile product mixture in metered or measured amounts into presterilized containers while maintaining the product mixture under pressure in all parts of the system between the pump and the iiller and While maintaining the iiller in sterile condition at all times during operation.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B comprise a two-part isometric and partly diagrammatic View of an aspetic canning apparatus embodying the principles of the invention. Some parts are broken away and shown in section, to disclose other parts. FIG. 1A shows the metering and mixing apparatus and the product-sterilizing heater, while FIG. 1B shows the temperature-maintaining and cooling apparatus, the container sterilizer, the ller and the containerclosing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation and partly in section of the apparatus for metering the liquid component of the food to be canned, for metering and blanching the solid components, for mixing them together and pumping them through the remainder of the system. Some parts are broken off or broken apart to conserve space.

FIG. 2A is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation and in section of the butterfly valve, taken along the line ZA-ZA in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged view in elevation and partly in section taken along the line 3 3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a View in elevation and in section on the scale of FIG. 3 of a portion of the solids-metering and blanching apparatus of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a still further enlarged fragmentary View in elevation and in section, taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view in elevation and in section of an end portion of the feed screw used in the solidsmetering and blanching apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation and in section of a pump suitable for use in this invention.

FIG. 8 is a view in elevation and in section, enlarged with respect to FIG. lA, of a food-heating sterilizer apparatus embodying the principles of this invention. Some of the piping and valves are shown diagrammatically, and some associated elements are shown, partly in elevation and partly broken away and in section.

FIG. 9 is a view in horizontal section, taken along the line 9 9 in FIG. 8.

FIG. l0 is an enlarged View in horizontal section taken along the line lil-It) in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a view in elevation and in section of a portion of a modified form of antibridging device that may be used in the float chamber of FIG. 8 or in the mixing device of FIG. 2. FIG. 1l is on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a view generally similar to FIG. 8 of a modifled form of product heater-sterilizer.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the heater of FIG. 12, with portions cut away and shown in section.

FIG. 14 is a view in elevation of a filler embodying the principles of the invention. Some parts have been omitted, some parts have been broken off, and some parts have been broken away and shown in section along the line llt-I4 in FIG. 15 to reveal parts behind them more clearly.

FIG. l5 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 14, partly broken away and shown in section omitting some parts that would tend to obscure the view.

FIG. 16 is a view in horizontal section taken along the line It-I6 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a condensed developmental view in elevation corresponding to the path shown in the circle 1'7-17 in FIG. 15 and illustrating the lling cycle together with the valve-operating cam arrangement.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged View in elevation taken along the line 18-18 in FIG. 15 showing one of the ends of the product-filling cyiinder and its valves.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional view on the scale of FIG. 18 taken along the line 19-19 in FIG. 15.

FIG. 2O is an enlarged view in section taken along the line Zit-213 in FIG. 19.

FIG. 21. is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 2li- 2l in FIG. 14.

GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE ASEPTIC ICANNING SYSTEM OF THE INVENTION (FIGS. 1A AND 1B) A liquid-supply unit A (FIG. 1A) feeds the liquid phase of a product to be canned to a liquid-metering unit B. Meanwhile, a solids supply, metering, and blanching unit C feeds various measured amounts of particulate or solid components into a mixing device B, where the solids are added to and mixed with the liquid. From there, the mixture is forced by a pump E through the remainder of the system, going rst to a product-heating unit F and then into a flow-control device G. The ilowcontrol device G regulates a variable speed motor H, which in turn controls the speed of the pump E and the metering rate of the solids-feeding unit C.

From the dow-control device C the hot mixture passes through a higli-temperature-maintaining device I (FIG. 1B), where sterilization is completed, and then ilows through a cooling means I. The cool sterilized product then flows to a ller K. A container sterilizer L supplies empty sterile containers M to the filler K, and filled containers N pass from the filler K through a sterile conveyer O to a closing machine P. A cover sterilizer Q supplies sterile covers to the closing machine P, which applies them to and seals them on the containers N. The sealed, filled containers R then leave the sterile closing machine P, and a conveyer S takes them outside the sterile atmosphere of the aseptic canner to non-sterile equipment such as the washer, labeler, case packer, and other equipment not directly concerned with the aseptic canning system.

THE LIQUID SUPPLY UNIT A (FIG. 1A)

The liquid supply unit A may comprise a steam-jacketed kettle 30 which contains a liquid food component 31. The steam-jacketed kettle 3i? may preheat or even precook the liquid 31 to any desired temperature, usually below 212 F. For that matter, for some uses the liquid 31 may be at the ambient temperature in an unjacketed 180 apart.

supply tank. An outlet 32 at the lower end of the kettle may lead into a vertical pipe 33, for gravity supply 1s desirable in the steps preceding the pump E. However, a pump may be used here in connection with a recirculating bypass, if desired. The vertical pipe 33 preferably leads through a three-way valve 34 to a pipe 35. The three-way valve 34 is used during the presterilization of the aseptic canning system, at which time the valve 34 closes off the pipe 33 from the pipe 35 and connects the pipe 35 to a water pipe 36. The purpose and operation of this feature will be explained later. At any rate, the pipe 35 leads into the liquid metering unit B.

THE LIQUID-METERING UNIT B (FIG. 2)

The liquid-metering unit B includes a generally cylindrical housing providing a float chamber 41 in which is mounted a float 42. The chamber 41 has a bottom inlet 43 connected to the pipe 35 and also has a radial outlet 44 part Way up one side, lower than the desired level of the liquid 31 in the chamber 41. From the outlet 44 a generally horizontal conduit 45 leads into the mixing device D. The liquid 31 will, of course, have substantially the same level in both the chamber 41 and the mixing device D. The float chamber 41 is of suiicient capacity to give an even flow of liquid through it, resulting from the gravity head of the kettle 3) (or pump pressure, if a pump is used before the unit B), and for the same reason has an adequate clearance from the float 42. In a typical apparatus the chamber 41 may be 10 in diameter and the float 7 in diameter.

The float 42 is provided with a diametral tube 46 having an extension 47, which enables the float 42 to be slidably mounted on a rod 4S. A thumb screw 49 makes it possible to fasten the float 42 at any desired height on the rod 48. The housing 40 has a cover 50 with an oversize, bossed axial opening 51, that serves as a guide for the rod 48 or extension 47. There is plenty of clearance between the tube extension 47 and the opening 51, to enable the escape of any entrained air, and air can also escape from the mixing device D, which is open to the air, for in neither is pressure allowed to build up.

The lower end of the rod 48 is pivotally attached to a linkage arm 52, which in turn is pivotally connected to a second arm 53. A thin, round butterfly valve 54 is mounted on the lower end of the arm 53 and both are pivotally attached to the housing 49 by a pair of pivot pins or bearings 55, which are axially in line with the rod 48 and the opening 51. The inlet 43 is provided with a valve opening 56 in which the butterfly valve 54 moves to throttle the How. The butterfly valve 54 is, in principle and construction, hydrostatically balanced. Hence it is easily actuated by the float 42 at all liquid levels in the kettle 30 and at all liquid pressures in the pipe 35.

To facilitate easy and thorough cleaning, the butterfly valve 54 is preferably made in the sanitary design illustrated in FIG. 2A. The valve 54, a thin metal disc, is mounted between the two bearings 55, which are exactly The bearings 55 are held in position in rounded notches 57 in a sleeve 58. The valve 54 can be readily removed, after removal of the cover 50 and oat 42, by releasing a clamp 59 and sliding the sleeve 58 out from the housing 40, along with the rod 47 and the linkages 52 and 53.

As the float 42 rises, it moves the levers 52 and 53 to close the buttery valve 54 and thereby to reduce the flow of liquid 31 past the opening 56. When the float 42 reaches a certain height, the butterfly valve 54 will close the opening 56, and the supply of liquid 31 will be practically `cut olf. When the liquid level drops, the oat 42 opens the valve 54. The float valve 42 thus meters the flow of the liquid 31 from the kettle 36 to the mixing device D and the pump E; it prevents the mixing device D from either overflowing or running empty and assures a level that enables good mixing of the liquid with the solids coming from the unit C.

. 12 SOLIDS SUPPLY, METERING AND BLANCHING UNIT C (FIGS. 1A AND 2 6) As shown in the drawings, the metering and blanching unit C for solids includes a series of hoppers 60, one for each solid ingredient, a metering device 61 at the lower end of each hopper 60, and a single conveyer belt 62 on which all the metering devices 61 meet out their ingredients and which carries them to and dumps them into the mixing device D.

The solid constituents to be measured out may be such things as cubed or sliced vegetables (e.g., potatoes, celery, carrots, onions), whole small vegetables (e.g., beans, peas, and small onions), and meat (e.g., cubed beef or slices of ham); the cubes may be about 3A or 1/2 on a side, or whatever Size one wishes them, the cutting being done in any desired manner. If desired, any of these ingredients may be precooked or sauteed. Once prepared, the solid constituents are placed into their respective hoppers 6i).

Each hopper 6i) is substantially identical in design and operation but there may be such variations as are desirable to accommodate different products. As shown, each hopper has a sloping wall 63 and an open lower end 64 which opens into a hopper-like housing portion 65 of the metering device 60. At the bottom of each metering device 66 is a preferably hollow screw 66 which is rotated so as to move the material out of the housing portion 65 and through and along a trough 6'7. The trough 67 is preferably semicircular in cross-section with its sides extending a substantial distance above the screw 66 and both its sides and bottom spaced from the screw 66 enough to protect the solid components from damage. The speed of the screw 66 determines the rate at which the food particles are dispensed onto the belt 62 through an opening 68 in the outer end of the trough 67. To enable blanching, as will be explained soon, the trough 67 is preferably tilted so that the screw 66 has to carry the material upwardly out of the housing 65. Each hollow screw 66 has a stub shaft 69 at its outer end, supported in suitable bearings. (See FIG. 6.)

The hopper 60 is preferably equipped with a vibrator 70 of any suitable type; eg., it may be mechanical, electrical, nor pneumatic. The vibrator 70 prevents the solid constituents from sticking to the sloping walls 63 of the hopper 66. It may be aided in its function by having the hopper 66 rest on a frame 71 through flexible or rubber supports 72, and by its having its lower end 64 free to move.

Mounted immediately above the screw 66 in the housing 65 is a shaft 73 on which are mounted a series of curved rods 74. The ends of the rods or fingers 74 preferably extend as close as possible to the housing and hopper walls, while still clearing them. On a one-foot shaft 73, three or four rods 74 spaced apart and set at different rotative positions on the shaft 73 are sufficient, and too many are undesirable, acting like a paddle. When the shaft 73 is rotated, the rods 74 revolve and prevent the product from cakng or lodging and from bridging over the lower end 64 of the hopper 60. Preferably, the shaft 73 is rotated slightly slower, and at least no faster, than the screw 66. This may be done by driving it through a reduction gear 75 and chain 76 from a drive shaft 77 that drives the screw 66. Although the vibration of the sloping hoppers 60 is suiiicient to cause most materials to flow freely into the metering device 61, some foods such as lasagne tend to stick together if compressed; without the revolving rods 74, the hollow rotating screw 66 would tend to extrude lasagne in wormlike chunks rather than in individual pieces.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and from the drawings that the metering screw 66 actually measures the material and that the speed at which the screw 66 turns determines the rate at which the material is fed to the belt 62. All the screws 66 are preferably 

3. IN AN ASEPTIC CANNING SYSTEM, THE COMBINATION OF: MEANS FOR PUMPING A FLOWABLE PRODUCT; MEANS FOR SPREADING SAID PUMPED PRODUCT OUT INTO A THIN, GENTLY FLOWING LAYER; MEANS FOR SWEEPING THE SURFACE OF SAID LAYER WITH RAPIDLY MOVING SUPERHEATED STEAM SO AS TO HEAT SAID PRODUCT; MEANS FOR RETAINING THE HEATED PRODUCT AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE FOR A TIME SUFFICIENT TO STERILIZE SAID PRODUCT; MEANS FOR COOLING THE STERILIZED PRODUCT; AND MEANS FOR FILLING SAID COOLED STERILIZED PRODUCT INTO STERILE CONTAINERS WHILE MAINTAINING THE BACK PRESSURE OF SAID SYSTEM THROUGH ALL THE OTHER SAID MEANS BACK TO SAID PUMPING MEANS. 